7/28/2019 RT Vol 12, No. 2 Uganda Blazing a Trail to Rice Success

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16 Rice Today  April-June 2013Rice Today  April-June 2013

Uganda—widely knownas “the pearl of Africa”for its exquisite natural beauty, diverse ora and

fauna, and rich mosaic of cultures—is aracting aention today as apotential rice basket for easternAfrica.

Over the last few years, Uganda

has been experiencing a remarkablerice boom supported by good farmingpractices, premium market prices,and favorable policies that havestimulated large private investmentin the rice sector.

The growth of Uganda’s riceproduction has contributed to greaterfood security and a reduction inrice imports. For instance, accordingto the Ugandan government, riceimports dropped between 2005 and2008, which helped save the countryabout US$30 million in foreignexchange earnings.

The area sown to rice nearlydoubled from about 80,000 hectares in2002 to about 150,000 hectares i n 2011.

Similarly, paddy production jumpedfrom about 120,000 tons in 2002 tomore than 220,000 tons in 2011.

“The rice industry in the countryhas rapidly moved from improvedseed to production to processingand to the markets over the last fewyears,” said Robert Anyang, programocer of Public-Private Partnership

and Market Access at SasakawaGlobal 2000 (SG2000).

This is a feat that several rice-producing countries in sub-SaharanAfrica would like to achieve. Yet, 10years ago, Uganda was barely knownas a rice-producing country in theregion. So, what triggered the ricetransformation?

NERICA flls the voidIn 2000 and 2001, when the priceof maize plunged in the region,Uganda’s government and farmerswere desperate for an alternative cropthat could provide food security andincome.

Through the timely assistanceprovided by SG2000 and the NationalAgricultural Research Organization(NARO), short-duration NERICAvarieties developed by the AfricaRice Center (AfricaRice), includingNERICA 1, 4, and 10, were identiedas a suitable replacement for maize.NERICA 4 was released in 2002 andfollowed by NERICA 1 and 10.

“In a short time, NERICA 4 became so popular that, by 2008, itoccupied almost 70% of the uplandarea under production,” said Dr. Jimmy Lamo, a rice breeder at NARO.

The turning pointGilbert Bukenya, the then vicepresident of Uganda, identied

upland rice as a major strategicintervention for food s ecurity andpoverty reduction. Because of Dr.Bukenya’s advocacy, President YoweriMuseveni launched the UplandRice Project in 2004. This is widelyacknowledged as t he turning point forthe growth of Uganda’s rice sector.

The campaign encouraged several

nongovernment organizations (NGOs)and development partners to joinforces with the Ugandan government.These were the Japan InternationalCooperation Agency, the UnitedNations Development Programme, theFood and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations, Oxfam, and theUnited States Agency for InternationalDevelopment, in addition to SG2000.

The government and thesepartners made major eorts topromote rice and strengthen thecapacity of rice farmers, millers,traders, and extension workers.

The rice scheme also motivatedprivate-sector players such asNASECO Seed Company, Grow More

Seeds, Pearl Seeds, Victoria Seeds, andFICA Seeds.

“The Upland Rice Project isa success story of public-privatepartnership, with each partner playinga role from research to nal productand commercialization,” said NicolaiRodeyns, managing director ofNASECO Seed Company. NASECO

Uganda’s rice imports decreased and its food security improved because of its

 growing rice production

Uganda: blazing a trail

to rice successby Savitri Mohapatra

was instrumental in t he productionand dissemination of certied seedof NERICA 4 under the trade nameSuparica 2.

The breakthroughHowever, the real breakthroughfor Uganda’s rice sector occurred inthe mid-2000s when the Ugandangovernment lobbied successfullyfor the East African Community toimpose a 75% tari on rice imports(35% for Kenya), according to Mr.

Anyang.“As the Ugandan government

didn’t have the money to supportsubsidies, this was a good way topromote its edgling rice industryand protect farmers from the inux ofcheap imported rice,” he commented.

The shift in government policyfurther stimulated rice productionin the country and motivated theprivate sector to invest heavily in thesector. The focus gradually shiftedfrom increasing rice production toimproving postharvest handling,value addition, and marketing.

According to Mr. VenugopalPookat, director of Tilda Uganda Ltd.,one of the leading rice-producing

companies in the country, locallyproduced rice can replace importedrice, only if it can be price-competitive, branded with consistent quality, andreadily available on the market. TildaUganda Ltd. produces dierent typesof rice to ll dierent market niches.

Similarly, small entrepreneurshave seized the opportunity to add

value by developing niche productssuch as parboiled rice, which is notcommonly available in Uganda.

Market integrationPublic- and private-sector partnersin Uganda’s rice sector are awarethat agricultural intensication goeshand in hand with agricultural sectordevelopment and market integrationat all levels.

“The activities involved in ricevalue addition have potential to create

wealth for all in the value chain,including farmers, transporters,middlemen, millers, t raders, and theeconomy,” explained Mr. Philip Idro,former Ugandan ambassador to Chinaand current director of Upland RiceMillers Ltd. (URM).

The URM rice factory in Jinja,in eastern Uganda, is helping ricefarmers to become part of agribusinessnetworks through which they can sellsurplus crops and invest in their farms.For example, rice farmers who bringtheir paddy to the factory for millingnd a ready market as they meet withrice traders at the same place.

“As long as farmers have a market,they always respond positively to that

market so production is no longer anissue,” explained Ms. Joan Rutaroh,program director of the UgandaDevelopment Trust, a local NGO thatprovides technical assistance andarranges agribusiness loans for smalland medium rice enterprises.

 Joyce Lalam Otema, a rice farmerfrom Gulu, agreed. “With rice, you

can’t go wrong,” she obstime you get a good yielis sold in 2–3 months. Yosell it locally or go to the

In addition to a larg by Tilda Uganda Ltd., thhas 15 medium-sized m850 small mills with polwhiteners.

Lowland rice productThe boom in Uganda’s ris also partly due to the

the Kibimba Rice Schemproduces about 20,000 toyear, which is 20% of thproduced in the country

Although rice schemthey are still small consUganda has about 500,0of land suitable for seasrice production. AccordNational Rice DevelopmUganda is expected to pto 335,000 tons of rice in500,000 tons in 2018. Nerice varieties are expectreleased soon by NARO

“With everything inincluding the right poliactors, the support of ri

partners through the neGlobal Rice Science Par(GRiSP), and with the pwe can achieve this goayears,” said Mr. Anyang

 Ms. Mohapatra is the heaand Communications at ACenter.

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